Arrest made in B.E. break-ins case

Doors broken at Hamilton Hall, Senior Center

November 4, 2012

A 22-year-old Blue Earth man apparently slipped up when he wore loose-fitting footwear during an attempted burglary.

That and an observant police officer at Crescent Apartments apparently helped solve two recent break-ins.

Around midnight on Oct. 26, officer Chad Bonin was talking with a resident at the apartment complex when a man wearing a multi-colored hoody and light faded blue jeans walked through the gates of the building.

And, the man also was shoeless.

That struck Bonin as being odd, since the temperature was around 35 degrees.

Moments after greeting each other, Bonin receives a call of someone throwing an object through a door window at Hamilton Hall at 202 S. Moore St.

Juveniles told authorities they saw a man wearing a hoody and jeans break the window and then take off running.

When searching the area, police found two black slippers, about 10 feet apart.

"I guess officers stumbled onto them in the middle of the street and put two and two together," says Police Chief Tom Fletcher.

The owner of the slippers was identified as Dylan David Adams.

Authorities interviewed Adams the next day and he admitted breaking the window and took off running after seeing a white vehicle he thought was a squad car.

A court complaint says Adams also told authorities he threw a rock through a window at the Senior Center located at 118 W. 7th St. Adams reportedly took a 55-inch flat screen television, remote and stand valued at nearly $1,200.

The complaint says he led police to the stolen television which was hidden in his apartment.

Middy Thomas, director at the Senior Center, reported the break-in to police around 8 a.m. on Oct. 25.

"It was a shock for me; that someone would think to do that. There was broken glass all the way down the runway," she says. "I'm still finding pieces of broken glass."

On Monday, Oct. 29, the television was back and being put to good use.

"It has some scratches, but it works fine," Thomas says. "Everybody is really happy it's back."

Adams made his first court appearance in Faribault County District Court on Monday.

He faces felony counts of attempted third-degree burglary, theft and third-degree burglary, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Adams also is charged with damage to property valued at $500 and less. The misdemeanor charge has a maximum sentence of 90 days and a $1,000 fine.

Judge Douglas Richards set bail at a $20,000 surety bond or $5,000 cash.

If Adams posts bail, he must abstain from use or possession of alcohol or mood-altering drugs; submit to random drug testing; may not enter an establishment that serves alcohol; and report any change of address to court administration officials.